How to Determine Whether Your Lion Server Directory is Local or Network

Before you decide on anything about Open Directory, you need to determine what Lion Server is using to store user accounts. Depending on the choices you made when you installed Lion Server, you may not be using a network directory at all.

Even if you’ve been adding user accounts, you still may not have a network directory configured: The Server app lets you add dozens of user accounts, keeping you blissfully unaware that you’re creating local accounts that are not shared on the network. If that occurs, it means a lot of retyping after you do create a shared Open Directory master.

Here are a few ways to find out if your directory is local and you’re not running Open Directory:

The Server App will tell you. Expand Next Steps at the bottom of the Server app and click the Manage Users button. Next Steps lets you know whether your user accounts are local.

Look in System Preferences in the Dock. Click the Users & Groups icon. If the user accounts you’ve added are all listed here, then you’ve created local accounts on the Mac, not in a shared network directory.

Look in Server Admin. Enter your password (authenticate) and click the triangle next to your server in the left column. If Open Directory isn’t listed here, then any accounts are you created are local.

If you upgraded to Lion Server from Snow Leopard Server running as an Open Directory master (or replica), then your updated server is also configured as an Open Directory master (or replica).

Not everyone needs to run a shared network directory. You can get away with local accounts if you’re running Lion Server at home or in a small workgroup and don’t need services that require a network directory, such as Profile Manager or iCal Server. You can provide file sharing just fine by using just local accounts on Lion Server, for example.